decision day in a divided nation. millions ever iraqis vote in an election that will shape the country's future. this is al jazeera live from doha. also ahead - chemical weapons inspectors are ordered into syria over claims poison chlorine gas is being used on civilians. more takeovers by pro-russian gunmen. moscow accuses the u.s. of using cold-war tactics in its response. and...

>> effective immediately i am banning mr donald sterling for life. out of the game an owner banned over racist comments. hello. it's a crucial day for iraq's future. millions are voting in elections to decide the shape of the government. this is the first vote since u.s. troops pulled out in 2011. security is tight, but there has been dozens of attacks. hundreds have been killed. the prime minister, nouri al-maliki is hoping for a third term but face stiff opposition. many accuse him of promoting a sectarian agenda and straining ties with companies. more than 9,000 candidates are competing for 328 seats, and

they'll choose the next president as well as the prime minister. imran khan is covering the elections, joining us from baghdad. >> nouri al-maliki is hoping to win a third term and we understand he's been speaking ahead of the vote. >> reporter: that's right. before we get to prime minister nouri al-maliki. i'm at a polling station. this is normally a school during term time. it's been turned into a polling station on april 30th. there has been 3,500 registered voters here. there has been a slow trickle of people going through that door down there. to get into here, you have to pass through two heavily manned security checkpoints and security has been a theme of prime minister nouri al-maliki's speech. he gave a speech on state tv and one of the things he said was this was a chance for iraqis to fight back. to be able to take their own

destiny into their own hands. let's take a look at what else he's been saying. >> translation: i call upon all iraqis to go to the ballot boxes and participate in the election because those who will take part will have a right to monitor and ask questions. god willing, we will celebrate a successful election, defeating terrorism and those that want the poll to be delayed. >> that's what nouri al-maliki was saying a short while ago. you were talking about getting through two security checkpoints to get to the location where you are, and there has been attacks leading to the elections. how is that affecting turn out? >> at the moment it's too early to say, polls have been open for three hours. i'm seeing a lot of people come through and past ballots. turn out is key. prime minister nouri al-maliki is banking that he promised security for iraq if he gets a

third term. many politicians, especially the sunni ones say it's the sectarian agenda he has pursued that has got others into this spot. he will have to form a government. it will be very difficult for him to get. last time around in 2010, it took eight months to form a government. that was with a lot of confident support and nouri al-maliki had support from the americans and both his allies have remained quiet. nouri al-maliki had a tough fight on his hands. turn out will be key. that will be shaped by how things will go during the day. it may put people off from coming. >> we'll leave it there. but we'll cross to you throughout the day. imran khan reporting from

baghdad. >> the government is facing threats at home criticism from abroad. we have this report. >> iraqi president is showing a rare public appearance in the hospital in germany where he's being treated. the ballot is for the first parliamentary elections since 2011 when the u.s. pulled out of iraq. the elections are seen as crucial. voting in some regions is expected to be difficult. in places like anbar province, there's fighting between the army and members of islamic state of iraq and levant. angry sunni tribal leaders trolley parts of anbar, including the city of ball usualinga. the government is accused of mistreating the sunnis. protesters accused the prime

minister of being a puppet of iran. nouri al-maliki's problems do not end there. leaders in the golf accuse his government of discriminating against sunni muslims. nouri al-maliki makes his own accusations and blames saudi arabia and qatar. the last summit in sirra underscored the political subdivisions between iraq and sunni neighbours. the opposition is sending fighters to syria. people are paying the price. the saudis want the president bashar al-assad out of power. >> translation: bashar al-assad and his associates have a place in the future of syria. >> with the war in syria showing no signs of letting up, the

concern that sectarian violence could spread to neighbouring countries, and that could leave iraq more isolated. chemical weapons inspectors are being sent to syria to investigate allegations of gas attacks. the syrian government denies it has been using chlorine on civilians. it's not listed as a banned agent but is outlawed. kath turner has the details from the united nations in new york. >> reporter: in recent weeks there has been a spate of incidents believed to involve chlorine. these youtube pictures show the aftermath of a barrel bomb. they claimed chlorine in cannisters was packed into the bar so the gas would spread on impact. now an investigative team is being dispatched to syria. news welcomed by the u.n. ambassador.

we welcomed the announcement that a mission is being sent to syria. syria must immediately and fully cooperate with such fact-finding and anybody responsible for such attacks must be held accountable. the syrian ambassador to the u.n. have made it clear, and does not believe there has been chlorine attacks. >> the aim of these allegations emanating from washington is to overshadow the successful preservations for elections in syria. they will not spare effort or argument to overshadow the successful preparations. >> investigators arrive in the country as a separate joint u.n. opcd continues its work to remove the chemical arsenal. that team says 92.5% of weapons have been removed or destroyed. >> the issue has been distrounded by controversy is

the the start. some western diplomats hint that bashar al-assad did not declare his chemical stock and may have hidden some of the deadly agents. >> while the syria government is accused of indiscriminately attacking civilians in aleppo with unguided barrel bombs, a human rights watch report says hundreds of people have been killed, and that's only in the last two months since the u.n. resolution was passed in february. that calls for all parties to stop using barrel bombs and weapons in populated areas. >> a man on death row in the united states in the state of oklahoma has died of a heart attack after a botched attempt to excuse him. clayton d. lockett was given lethal injections. the execution was called off. he lifted his head and started mumbling. a prison spokesman said the vein

was broken and the drugs not working properly. another inmate was to be put to death hours later. that has been delayed. oklahoma's supreme court ruled in favour of the state. >> french and engineering company has seated a $17 billion bid from general electric. the proposal has been described as practically perfect. >> french government has been trying to steer him towards europe. there are fears that a take over by u.s. company will mean job losses for the french. russia has accused the west of reviving cold war tactics. on tuesday the you european union added 15 more people on the list of russian and ukrainian officials facing asset freezes and travel bands.

washington announced a new set of sanctions. president obama said he would not impose more sanctions. >> eastern ukraine - gunman opened fire as they took control of more buildings. pro-russian able to visits stormed the headquarters for police and luhansk. barnaby phillips reports from the city of donetsk. gungun. >> reporter: the pro-russian crowd forced their way into the government building in liuhansk they seemed incapable or unwilling to take on the crowds. they refused to hand their weapons over. then they were escorted away. the crowd revelled in their victory. they took over more buildings in the town. later pro-russian gunmen opened

fire in an attack on the police station. so pro-russian groups extend their control. they want to hold a referendum in early may. in order for the vote to be credible they need a large enough area under their authority, that is driving them on at the moment. how fair would such a vote be. this man runs a website. we are going to his office. he's taken down the name plaque and most of his staff are too afraid to come here after a visit by masked men and baseball bats. >> it's the influence of the people. it will be diff and dangerous for journalists to work. it's dangerous now. i have one colleague - he's fled

with his family to kiev. some of those opposed to russia say they have had enough. this video has appeared op youtube. these men say they are ukrainian patriots. provisions in the east are hardening. >> well, there have been violent scenes in the ukraine capital as far right activists try to enter the central square. the ultra nationalists want to honour protesters killed there. they met resistance from members of the so-called self-defence unit who are occupying that square. >> still ahead on al jazeera - the backlash against mass death sentences in egypt, and why it's affecting u.s. funding for its armies. plus we travel to an indian state, to look at the popularity and controversy surrounding the

man tipped to be the next prime

hello again. the top storesies on al jazeera. iraqis are voting in parliamentary elections right now. this is the first vote since the withdrawal of u.s. troops in 2011. security is tight across the country as there have been dozen of attacks in the run up to the elections in iraq. the international chemical weapons watchdog is sending a new team into syria to see if

chlorine gas was used against civilians. the syrian government denies it. demonstrations in an east ukrainian town. more on the elections in iraq. that's where politics and power revolves around the shia, sunni and kurdish. in northern iraq the kurdish community makes a fifth of the population. the semiautonomous area has its own government. further south is a mix of sunni arabs and kurds in oil-rich places. over a third of iraq's population are sunni muslims, in central and western parts and accuse the shi'a-led government of discrimination. from the capital baghdad and surrounding areas, it's historically been a mix of sunni and shia muslims. the majority population

concentrated in the east and southern iraq, including cities like basra, generating 40% of iraq's oil revenues. let's speak to an editor-in-chief inside iraqi politics. joining us from the kurd anian capital. no single party is expected to win the elections currently taking place, to win a majority of the elections going on in iraq. can up explain the system of proportional representation? >> sure, so the way it works is that iraq is divided into 18 districts. one district for each province. there are 328 seats in the parliament. three more than in 2010. they are divided roughly according to population. what will happen is that the parties - what they'll do is they are allowed to register as

coalition blocks or run as parties. the most important groups ran as coalition blocks. nouri al-maliki's block is called the state of law coalition. another competing one lead by the islamic supreme council is the block of the citizen, and so on. each of these is made up of a variety of different parties, and then after the election, they will form a larger block even among these, so let's say nouri al-maliki gets 80 to 90 seats, he'll try to put together a larger coalition that is a majority to form a new government. >> whoever wins the election, whoever ends up running the country could depend on the coalition talks. will depend on the coalition talks that happened after the

vote; correct? >> that's correct, and the bar is high for prime minister nouri al-maliki. he will win, this is a given. the question is how large of a porality. my thinking is the bar is high. there's a lot of resistance. if he gets, let's say, 70 or 80 seats, his bloc, that will be a porality, but it's not a good number for him. he needs more like 90 or more, he and his close allies, because there is in so much resistance for that. then, once the shia as a whole make up a slight majority for all mps in the parliament, once they come up with a nominee, there'll be negotiations with sunni parties and the kurds. >> we'll leave it there. thank you for joining us from oman in jordan. a powerful u.s. senator says

he will block usa to egypt. from what he calls sham trials. an egyptian court sentenceded over 400 to death. a number of people want to stop the obama administration administration sending aid to egypt. patty culhane has this report. >> reporter: 683 egyptians sentence said to death in a lightening quick trial. that was one step too far for the u.s. senator patrick lay hi, chairman of the committee that approves overseas funding. >> even if i wasn't chairman, i would have been watching the situation with great interest and growing dismay. where hundreds of people can be sentenced to death after a sham trial lasting barely an hour. it's a flaunting of human rights

by the egyptian government. it's an appalling abuse of the justice system. which is fundamental to any democracy. nobody, nobody can justify this. he says the u.s. will not help pay for it. he's blocking 650 million in aid. the obama announced it would give to the military for counterterrorism and for upholding the treaty. money it promised after 529 other egyptians were sentenced to death in a trial in march. meeting with egyptian foreign ministers secretary of state john kerry described the cases as scary. for his part, they tried to offer reassurance. >> i can't comment on the decisions, but i'm confident that due process is allowed, and that the legal system will ultimately end up with proper

decisions in each of these cases, and we'll build a democracy based on the rule of law. >> for now, some powerful politicians in the u.s. don't believe him. senator lay hi says this is not democracy, but a dictatorship run amok. until that changes, he says the u.s. will be keeping its cash. >> al jazeera continues to call for the immediate release of its journalists held in egypt. their trial has been adjourned until may the 3rd. they've been in gaol for 123 days. peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy, and baher mohamed, are falsely accused of providing a platform for the outlawed muslim brotherhood. now declared a terrorist organization. mohamed fadel fahmy, a fourth journalist has been held without trial since august and has been on a hunger strike for the last 100 days. al jazeera relates all charges -- rejects all charges. >> one person has been killed in

an explosion at the timor oil explosion in ghana. it had been should down at the time. blast. it serves ghana with 45,000 barrels of oil a day. round 7 of india's parliamentary elections. the ruling party is b.j.p. and the man modi voted in his home state. he is the chief minister of the state and been credited with turning it into an economic power house. business leaders are openly supporting him. others are skeptical about his economic credentials. >> reporter: this is the sound of progress in india's western states. it is a multi-million german manufacturer employeeing more than 350 indians.

khs makes machines to process and package machines for clients like coca-cola. since opening a factory, the company tripled its annual turn over and increased staff five fold. >> if you look at baz ra, the bureaucracy is absent. instead of red tape you find a red carpet. >> many foreign and indian qups take tatar motors have been lured by the state's chief minister, and now prime ministerial candidate mode. he's credited with building infrastructure, streamlining bureaucracy and providing tax incentives to investors, and it seems to be paying off. >> signs of prosperity are everywhere. the state has enjoyed annual average growth rate of 10% since modi became chief minister in 2002. under his leadership per cap ita

income has nearly doubled giving him more disposable money than before. some say these achievements are more hype than substance. >> this man is an economics professor in the state capital, and says the policies plunged the state into a massive fiscal deficit. >> the government is a great concern. in 2001 when he became the chief minister it was around 4 billion, and gone up to 30 million this year. >> there are those suffering under the government's policies. these farmers are accusing the administration of stealing their land, and selling it to autogiant. they say they have been tilling their farms for three generations but were never given

any land deeds. >> translation: last month government sent people to take our land. >> while narened ra mooedie continues his campaign, the farmers say they'll continue their campaign against his economic policies. members of bolivia's military healed an equal opportunity march in lapaz. these low-ranking officers want equal pay and rights for themselves and their families. they were joined by indigenous community leaders and students. protesters called for the reinstatement of 700 soldiers who were dismissed for taking part in protests. >> the u.s. national basketball association banned l.a. clippers owner donald sterling for life. the n.b.a. handing down the

unprecedented punishment after confirming donald sterling made racist remarks in a leaked audio reporting. >> reporter: n.b.a. commissioner adam silver dished out the strongest penalty in his power against l.a. clippers's owner. >> effective immediately i am banning mr donald sterling for life from any association with the l.a. clippers organization or the number of ba. mr donald sterling may not attend any n.b.a. games or practices. he may not be present at any clippers facility, and he may not participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. >> stirl , the owner -- donald sterling, the owner of the team was caught on tape making racist statements about african men's

to his girlfriend. donald sterling called the remarks deeply defensive and was personally distraught. adam silver fined him $2.5 million, and he is being pressured to give up the team. >> i will urge the board of gore resist to force a -- governors to force a sale of the team and will do everything in my power to see that that happens. >> meanwhile a crucial play-off clean the clippers and the golden state war wrars. the l.a. clippers's coach doc rivers said the players felt a great deal of relief. >> i told the players about the decision. they were just happy that it's a resolution, and it's over, and the start of it to be. >> commissioner silver said as part of the n.b.a.'s investigation he had spoken personally to donald sterling,

but he expressed no remorse for the words that outraged so many. just a reminder that you can keep up to date with all the news and all the day's top stories by logging on to the website aljazeera.com. >> president obama's returning home to the u.s. to find the lowest approval ratings of his years at the white house. in foreign affairs the president has defended his approach as one that protects american interests and american friends in a multi polar world. is there an obama doctrine? it's the inside story.